NHL Power Rankings 2023-24

The 2023-24 NHL season has a tough act to follow coming off a campaign that saw teams and players make some history. It ended with the Vegas Golden Knights raising the Stanley Cup in just their sixth season of existence, and they will try to become the third team to repeat as champions in the past nine seasons.

The Boston Bruins posted a record 65 wins in the 2022-23 regular season but fell short in the playoffs and now have to rebound without two longtime stalwarts. Connor McDavid put up a scoring season for the ages but couldn’t get the Edmonton Oilers past the second round.

After a busy NHL offseason, check out where those teams and the rest reside in our NHL power rankings for the 2023-24 campaign. And if you're betting on this teams, make sure to take a look at our NHL predictions.

NHL POWER RANKINGS: EVERY TEAM RANKED FROM 1-32

1. DALLAS STARS

Dallas was knocked out of the playoffs by the eventual champion Vegas Golden Knights one round short of the Stanley Cup Final and have all the pieces in place to take the next step: an emerging superstar in Jason Robertson, a top defenseman in Miro Heiskanen and one of the NHL’s best goalies in Jake Oettinger. That’s in addition to accomplished veterans Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski and Tyler Seguin.

2. CAROLINA HURRICANES

Carolina looked to be on its way to the Stanley Cup Final after two impressive playoff wins against the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils but fell short of the trophy again. The Hurricanes come into the 2023-24 regular season with basically the same group but should get back star forward Andrei Svechnikov, who suffered a knee injury last season.

3. EDMONTON OILERS

With the best player in the league – Connor McDavid – and another who is one of the best – Leon Draisaitl – Edmonton cannot be counted out as a strong Stanley Cup contender. But despite a series win against the Los Angeles Kings, the formula of relying on the top two 2023 NHL scoring leaders and a lethal power play fell short again in the playoffs, so more contributions from the supporting cast will be necessary.

4. NEW JERSEY DEVILS

A rising force in the Eastern Conference after almost a decade in the wilderness, New Jersey gained valuable playoff experience last season, knocking out the rival New York Rangers before being taught some lessons in a loss to the seasoned Carolina Hurricanes. Forward Jack Hughes is a rising superstar and one of the best offensive players in the league, and he’ll be joined this season by his brother Luke, a defenseman.

5. VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS: 2022-23 STANLEY CUP WINNER

The defending 2023 Stanley Cup champions return most of the roster that won the franchise’s first title in just its sixth season. But the key veterans – including Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo – are one year older, and it might be difficult for the Golden Knights to repeat the success they had using a goalie rotation headed by Adin Hill in the playoffs.

6. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Toronto keeps sticking with the longtime core of star players – Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly –  that has never gotten them past the second round of the playoffs. Unrestricted free agent signing Tyler Bertuzzi will try to help the Maple Leafs end a 56-year Stanley Cup drought.

7. COLORADO AVALANCHE

Just one season removed from a Stanley Cup championship, Colorado enters the 2023-24 NHL season surprisingly scrambling to fill out its top six forwards. Though oft-injured, the Avalanche do have two of the best players in the league in Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

8. MINNESOTA WILD

Minnesota followed another 100-point regular season with another first-round playoff elimination in 2022-23, a troubling trend. Emerging talent Matt Boldy needs to help Kirill Kaprizov get back to the superstar form he showed two seasons ago.

9. NEW YORK RANGERS

New York has star power at goalie (Igor Shesterkin), defenseman (Adam Fox) and forward (Artemi Panarin) but it hasn’t paid off on the ice. A discouraging loss to the New Jersey Devils in the first round of last year’s playoffs led to the departure of head coach Gerard Gallant, who was replaced by Peter Laviolette, who has a long-ago Stanley Cup title on his resume.

10. FLORIDA PANTHERS

Florida made an astounding run to the Stanley Cup Final, eliminating the historic Boston Bruins in the first round on the way to falling short against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Panthers won’t have top defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour to start the 2023-24 regular season but they showed last year that they can get hot at the right time.

11. BOSTON BRUINS

Boston followed up the best record of all time in the 2022-23 regular season with a first round playoff exit and this offseason lost captain Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement. Linus Ullmark is coming off a Vezina Trophy season as the NHL’s best goalie, but he might find it very difficult to repeat that unexpected performance.

12. OTTAWA SENATORS

Ottawa looks to be on the upswing with emerging superstar Tim Stutzle surrounded by a solid supporting cast. New goalie Joonas Korpisalo and a full season with defenseman Jakob Chychrun, along with free agent addition Vladimir Tarasenko, could push the Senators into the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

13. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Tampa Bay is just two seasons removed from hoisting the Stanley Cup and one season from falling short of a three-peat, but aging players and salary cap constraints may have drawn the curtains on the Lightning’s championship window. Elite goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy will be out for two months after having back surgery, and a slow start could lead to a rare disappointing campaign in 2023-24.

14. BUFFALO SABRES

Buffalo looks to finally be ready to make the playoffs for the first time since 2011 after posting 42 wins in 2022-23. Tage Thompson will look to build on his breakout season by continuing to score, but the Sabres fortunes could come down to the performance of young goalie Devon Levi.

15. LOS ANGELES KINGS

Head coach Todd McLellan has helped Los Angeles turn around its fortunes since his arrival in 2019, but the Kings still haven’t won a playoff series since their last Stanley Cup championship in 2014. Former No. 3 overall pick Pierre-Luc Dubois was brought in to try to help lingering vets Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty.

16. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Pittsburgh added Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson this offseason in its attempt to take another run at the Stanley Cup while Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang still have some time before retirement.

17. SEATTLE KRAKEN

It took just two seasons for Seattle to make the playoffs for the first time, and the Kraken have something to build on after knocking out the defending champion Colorado Avalanche before pushing the Dallas Stars to seven games. An uptick from former super prospect Shane Wright could help continue that momentum.

18. WINNIPEG JETS

Longtime fixture Blake Wheeler has left Winnipeg, and its possible star forward Mark Scheifele and goalie Connor Hellebuyck, each entering the final season of their contracts before becoming unrestricted free agents, may soon follow. A good start by the Jets and staying in playoff contention could keep them around.

19. VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Head coach Rick Tocchet brought some stability to Vancouver when he arrived during the 2022-23 season, and the Canucks do have two of the top young players in the league – Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes – to build around.

20. NEW YORK ISLANDERS

After making the Eastern Conference Finals for two straight years early in the decade, New York has settled firmly in the middle of the pack in the league. With one of the top goalies in hockey in Ilya Sorokin, the Islanders’ style of play won’t change much, but the lack of an offensive spark doesn’t really fit in the new-age NHL.

21. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

An offseason of turmoil in Columbus resulted in newly hired Mike Babcock leaving before he ever coached a game for them. It was the last thing the Blue Jackets needed as they try to mesh talented prospects like 2023 third overall pick Adam Fantilli with established stars like Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine and newcomer Damon Severson.

22. DETROIT RED WINGS

Detroit will be looking for the playoff payoff after an extremely patient rebuild that has brought building blocks Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider in recent drafts and Alex DeBrincat in free agency. A former NHL powerhouse, the Red Wings haven’t made the postseason since 2016 nor won a playoff series in a decade.

23. CALGARY FLAMES

Calgary’s transition from the days of Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk and head coach Darryl Sutter did not go as planned, so the Flames will try again hoping that Jonathan Huberdeau has finally adjusted after a 60-point drop in his first season with them.

24. ST. LOUIS BLUES

St. Louis has just seven key players remaining from the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2019 and is trying to build a new era of success around young stars Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas. The Blues’ goaltending could be in flux, with Cup-winner Jordan Binnington being pushed by rookie Joel Hofer.

25. WASHINGTON CAPITALS

Washington has moved past the point of contending for championships and now will be focused on getting Alex Ovechkin over the NHL all-time goal-scoring mark. The 38-year-old captain enters the season with 822 NHL goals, 72 behind Wayne Gretzky’s record.

26. NASHVILLE PREDATORS

A new regime takes over in Nashville with GM Barry Trotz and head coach Andrew Brunette trying to get the Predators back into Cup contention. Goalie Juuse Saros and defenseman Roman Josi are among the NHL’s best at their positions, but there just isn’t enough around them right now.

27. ARIZONA COYOTES

There may be some reason for optimism in Arizona. The Coyotes have one of the most underrated players in the league in Clayton Keller, who will be joined by one of the game’s top prospects in Logan Cooley this season.

28. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

In the first season under head coach John Tortorella, Philadelphia improved by 14 points in the standings but still were nowhere close to making the playoffs. Goalie Carter Hart has regressed along with the team and will be trying to prove that he remains the long-term answer for the franchise.

29. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

It’s a new era in Chicago with No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard arriving as one of the most heralded hockey prospects in years. Three-time Cup winners Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have moved on, and the Blackhawks will try to build another dynasty with Bedard as the centerpiece.

30. ANAHEIM DUCKS

Anaheim’s losing ways continued when it fell short in the NHL Draft Lottery and lost out on the chance to land Connor Bedard. The Ducks are building piece by young piece, adding No. 2 pick Leo Carlsson to a promising group that includes re-signed restricted free agent Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish and Troy Terry but will be without injured Alex Killorn to start the season.

31. MONTREAL CANADIENS

Montreal has fallen fast since reaching the Stanley Cup Final three years ago and has missed the playoffs with two last-place finishes in its division since then. It would help if Juraj Slafkovsky, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, plays up to that status after a disappointing rookie season.

32. SAN JOSE SHARKS

The 2022-23 campaign was difficult for San Jose with an NHL-low 22 wins, but at least it had 100-point defenseman Erik Karlsson. That’s no longer the case after a trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins this offseason. The Sharks are most likely to have the best odds in next year’s NHL Draft Lottery.